Scrappy Travels

I have a concert bucket-list like most people. I've had the chance to see Paul McCartney, Billy Joel and Elton John, which were definitely on the list. But there was one last man on that list, that I didn't think I'd get the chance to see. That was Phil Collins. Because of issues with his health over the last few years, he vowed he was done touring. But earlier this year, word finally came that he'd be back on the road this fall. Thankfully, I'm pretty quick on the keyboard when it comes to buying tickets. And I'm happy to say he was unbelievably amazing! I enjoyed every moment of the concert, and he hasn't lost a step with his voice. I was a little taken aback to see him appear on stage with a cane. I knew he had issues with his hearing, but I don't think I knew he had back issues. So the fact he'd be sitting the entire evening was a little upsetting. However, even sitting, he managed to kill it. He chatted a bit, and shared a few stori

Because I'm always on the lookout for something ridiculous to focus my time on, I'm participating in the #ShowYourArt2018 challenge on Instagram for the Americans for Art foundation. Each day they provide an artsy prompt and you're supposed to post a picture that contains art with that theme. It's been fun to realize that there is in fact, art all around us at all times of the day. All 6 photos I've shared so far have been from my travels in the last year. I haven't had to work hard to find any at all.  When so many arts programs are being cut in schools, it's super fun to focus on the beauty and art in the world that's not huge or extravagant. It simply is, and that's the part that matters. So here goes, here are the first 6 artsy days of my life. Day 1: #Blue - I happened upon this beautiful sculpture in San Antonio as I was wandering around trying to waste time before my flight home. It turns out I'd inadvertently wandered into the Inst

We are a few hours away from the confirmation of a judge who could potentially set women's rights back decades. Say what you want, but whether you're Republican or Democrat, that should make you angry. Congressmen and women have repeatedly attacked a victim of sexual assault and shown they have no respect for actual justice. They only seem to care about a partisan agenda.   Throughout this process, Dr. Ford has shown unbelievable poise and strength. She sat for hours as the committee grilled her about an event in which she was the victim, barely flinching, while Judge Kavanaugh raised his voice, snapped at members of the committee and showed visible anger that he was being subjected to even the slightest hint of scrutiny. Removing a possible sexual assault from the equation of Judge Kavanaugh's record (something his supporters seem all to eager to do), he's repeatedly lied to the committee (which has been proven by fact checking his testimony) and has s

Tonight I went to an evening presented by two travel agents. They scheduled 3 different travel companies to come and chat with people about trips and tours their companies offered. It was really interesting to hear about the trips that were out there. What wasn't so fun was to hear about the prices of these trips. It's unbelievable how expensive these things are. The majority of these trips were group tours. Now, I'm all about a food tour or a walking tour, but taking a gamble on a big trip just sounds risky. What if you and your group don't see eye to eye? What if a serial killer (probably unlikely...) is in your group? What if you get stuck with a bunch of boring non-food lovers that complain all the time? I mean I know taking chances is a good thing, but if I'm going to pay all that money, I want to have fun with people I know I like. Ironically though, the coolest trips were the ones with the crazy group travel company. So now I'm more confused than e

A few months ago, I saw The Band's Visit after months of hearing what a beautifully lyrical show it is. And at the time, I liked it a lot. But it wasn't exactly what I had expected. Most of the reviews I had read said that the show is like "being inside a poem." They went onto say that the show was one of the most beautiful shows they'd seen in quite some time.  Now, like I said, I enjoyed the show, but it wasn't as beautiful as everyone made it out to be. It was small and compact, with not a lot of glitz and glamour. Those are the types of shows I enjoy most. And the cast is amazingly talented. They all work so well together, and they each fit their characters perfectly. The music was beautiful, and fitting for the story of an Egyptian band accidentally spending the evening in an Israeli town. The use of Hebrew and Egyptian throughout, and the casting of actors of Middle Eastern descent, made me love the show even more. However, I didn't see the

This afternoon, as I wandered around University of Maryland's campus getting very lost, I realized it's so much larger than I thought it would be. As a Towson University grad, I thought I knew large schools. But UMD is something else entirely. It's like its own little city. While I didn't enjoy finding myself in one building when I was supposed to be in another (thank goodness for nice Plant Studies students who point you in the right direction!), I did enjoy being on a campus again. What I really loved about seeing UMD's campus was the diversity. I must have seen a thousand students wandering around between classes, and every single one looked different. There were all shapes and sizes and nationalities. I've always known that UMD had a big reach, but I didn't realize just how big. When people in society are judging others for their race or the country they were born in, it's refreshing to see an environment that embraces those differences. UMD

September was a very busy month, full of birthdays, fun outings and lots and lots of writing. Yet, not a lot of theatre, reading, or traveling. It's a conundrum really... September Reads Towers Falling by Jewell Parker Rhodes: While I agree that young adults should learn about September 11, I felt that this book told the tale a bit too harshly. The Land of Forgotten Girls by Erin Entrada Kelly: This was another tough read. I liked it because it promoted the use of imagination and storytelling, but it was a little harsh for middle grades. Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling: I love, love, love this book! It teaches kids about disability and how people with disabilities are often viewed. It also helps kids to understand Tourettes better. And it's a super fun tale of mystery. It's perfect for all ages! Campaign Widows by Aimee Agresti: I haven't quite finished it yet, but I am liking it. It's sort of Inside DC Politics + Chick L

Sometimes September 29 in Maryland is as gorgeous as this! On the very first day of September, I gave myself a challenge. I wanted to write 30 posts in 30 days. And I'm happy to say that I actually succeeded! While not every post was cutting edge or even terribly interesting, I wrote and that was the important part. The more I write, the easier it becomes.  I realized I liked trying out new things because I had to. Sometimes, I get inside my head and if the idea isn't perfect, I just let it go. But when I need to post something, I just go with the idea and see what comes out of my brain. I kinda love that! It also allows me to see things more creatively. What may just be a fabulous television show, or delicious meal, can turn into a really great story or at the very least a somewhat interesting story. So I'm going to try to keep up the streak for the next 31 days. At some point, I'm going on vacation, so I may be a little too busy having fun to write, but I'

Aside from Lin, my very favorite member of the original Hamilton cast is Chris Jackson. And tonight I finally had the chance to see him in concert. I just love his personality and of course that gorgeous voice of his, so I was very excited to see him in a more informal setting. Obviously, he knocked it out of the park. His concert was seemingly off the cuff. He would sing a bit, then chat about a singer he liked or anecdotes about his family or Broadway. He's so sincere, and seemed to be blown away by the fact that he was performing at the Kennedy Center. It was sweet to see him get as excited as we were to see him. He chose a wide variety of songs to sing, such as classics by Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and Harry Belafonte. Those were most of the ones I knew. He sang quite a few others that I'd never heard before, but they were no less fun. He even ended the show with a snappy version of "Happy" by Pharrel Williams. All in all, I liked his choices and they wo

Last season, my three favorite shows on network television - because I'm cheap and don't have any streamers except Netflix - were This is Us on the drama side and Speechless and Will & Grace for a tie on the comedy side. Even though I avoid anything that makes me cry, I'm obsessed with This is Us . The storytelling is innovative and creative, and I've never seen a cast so talented and that gels so well together. It's a beautiful show that makes me cry every episode, and I'm still chomping at the bit every week to see something new. As for the comedies, Speechless is the perfect family comedy, set around a family coping with a child with a serious disability. What's perfect about it is the storyline doesn't revolve around his disability. The family is a normal American family, who just happens to have a son incapable of speaking. It's so much funnier than I'm making it sound. Once again, the cast gels perfectly and a show that advocates

Today was not a good day by any means. It was pretty rough for everyone across the country. I found myself tied to the television, unable to look away at the horror show while shouting at the television set. Note to anyone thinking of taking a sick day, do so when a brave victim isn't being put on trial by a bunch of old men who'd rather question her memory than question the man she's accusing. It's a bit less infuriating and you may actually get some rest. Anyway, this evening, instead of continuing to shout into the void, I went to the theatre. I saw Dancing at Lughnasa at Everyman Theatre. I focused on the words of Brian Friel. I marveled at the beauty of the stage. I watched the little choices the actors made. I questioned choices the characters made. I thoroughly enjoyed a beautiful play. In other words for 2 and a half hours, I forgot about the confirmation hearing of the arrogant he who should not be named. I let that anger and sadness go, and completely

For the last hour, I've been sitting on my sofa watching a movie on the Hallmark Channel called "Murder she Baked." Please don't judge me, because I'm hardcore judging myself already. I've never actually understood the whole Hallmark movie thing. If I want to watch a mystery, I'll watch a Law & Order rerun.  Yet, in a day that included a terrifying press conference meltdown by he who shall not be named, a Hallmark movie about a bakery owner who solves a crime, seems like the perfect thing to hold my attention. And while I may be half asleep, I seem to be pretty invested in who exactly committed the murder. So much so, that when I switched over to watch "A Million Little Things", I set the DVR to record the last 30 minutes of the movie.  *And, for the record, I realize this may have been a super boring post, but know that I did warn you that some days my brain gets blocked. Today is one of those days. So a few paragraphs about a bakery

Over the last few months, the national conversation has been dominated by stories of men exerting their power over women. These women have bravely come forward to share their experiences in hopes of helping other women. Yet these women are still told that their feelings are somehow less than a man's. Today alone, Brett Kavanaugh - the Supreme Court nominee - has been accused by 2 additional women of sexual misconduct and Bill Cosby has been sentenced to 3 - 10 years for rape. The President and Congress are spreading a message that "boys will be boys" while Cosby's lawyer is saying the women accusing him have "a vendetta" against Cosby. Seeing what these women have gone through has angered me to no end. I can't fathom it, and I just can't understand how their experiences can be questioned while their attackers seem unaffected. The bravery of these women to share their story with the masses has been remarkable to see. However, it's heartbreak

In New York this evening, friends, family and pretty much everyone who's everyone in the Broadway community are celebrating Andrew Lloyd Webber's work in Arts education and his 70th birthday (a little late). That's just another of the 3,362 reasons I wished that I lived in New York, but that's an entirely different story. I've written a lot about my love for ALW's work. I have this theory that if you're a musical theatre lover, you're either in the Sondheim camp or the Lloyd Webber camp. I'm planted soundly in the ALW camp. No offense to Stephen Sondheim, but ALW is the number one reason I'm a theatre-lover today. His work was the first I saw and the first I fell in love with. In elementary school - thanks to the best music teacher ever! - I was introduced to Jesus Christ Superstar . I was in awe of it all. The music is unbelievably good. The original cast is ridiculously talented. And the way it was filmed is just so before its time. I fell

I've somehow lived in Maryland all of my life, and have never been to the tiny town of Chesapeake City. Up until a few months ago, I'd never even heard of it, which isn't a huge surprise because I'm not so great with directions.  While the town may not be a huge tourist destination, there are a few tiny shops and a great restaurant there to keep you busy on a summer afternoon. The shops mainly contain cute little knick-knacks and jewelry. But the shops themselves are in beautiful historic buildings, so even if you're not up for buying things, checking out the architecture is definitely worth it.  Another fun aspect of the town is that it sits on the Inland Waterway. What seems like a narrow canal, is actually a fairly deep connector for large container ships. I didn't realize that point, until an enormous ship came from behind a house and appeared magically in front of me. The ship looked entirely out of place and it was for some reason so cool t

It's this lady's birthday. She's pretty much the best! She is by far the funniest, silliest and loveliest mom a girl could ever ask for. She is one of my most favorite people in the world. I'm not entirely sure how my dad (who is my other favorite!) and I got lucky enough to have her in our lives, but we're so thankful we did! I'm speaking for him here, but I'm pretty sure he and I aren't quite sure what we'd do without her. Love you bunches bud! Hope you had the absolutely, positively best birthday ever! Because you totally deserve it! Love you to the moon and back!  PS - Also, as you can see from this photo, we look absolutely nothing alike. : ) BTW, that saying about "Sometimes when I open my mouth, my mother comes out" has never been more true. I'm more like her than sometimes I care to admit, but I can't think of someone better to be like than her! 

About 6 months ago, my boss jokingly told me that she had added my joining eHarmony to her calendar. And if I didn't meet that goal, she was not going to be happy. So after attempting to write a profile - with input from every person in my life, I hit the button and joined the site for a whole year. Now after being a member for 6 months, I'm giving you an update on how it's all going. Long story, short - it's not. I've decided it's so not my thing. I don't know what it is, but there are no Prince Charmings on that site that like me, whom I also like. For starters, I've been matched with men way out of my radius. For some reason, the site thinks I want to drive super far to meet my prince for dinner or drinks. Honestly, at one point I had matches in Connecticut, and New York. Now, it's just mostly Virginia and DC. On top of not listening to my radius preferences, they seem to not listen to my thoughts on what I'm looking for in a mate. Sup

A few weeks ago, I attended the National Book Festival in Washington DC. Only intending to purchase a few used books, I was not so pleasantly surprised when I realized this book festival did not have a used book area. What they did have was an entire area devoted to the books of the authors that were speaking that day, all run by Politics and Prose. That meant of course, I needed to at least peruse the bookshop area. And then since I have absolutely zero will power, it meant that I needed to buy an entire tote bag (Book-themed naturally...) full of very different books than I usually purchase. Since that time, I've read all but 2 of the books, and have varying degrees of feelings for each. I'll be honest, I purchased Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus specifically because I liked the title. But the story of a young girl who lives a fabulous life with her family, and just so happens to not have any arms, is a story of differences and how people can still

A few years ago, the bestie and I embarked on a trip to New England. We drove up to Connecticut, through Rhode Island, and then onto Boston. I'd never been farther North than New York, so I really enjoyed seeing that part of the country. As much as I loved Boston and Newport, in my opinion, the prettiest city we visited was Mystic, Connecticut. It's the quintessential  New England port city. It's not too big and not too small. And for someone who grew up outside of Annapolis, I felt right at home around all the boats and cute little shops. I just knew one day I'd go back and show off the town I'd fallen for. I was excited to return this past summer and on this trip, I was the tour guide and was able to show off what I love so much about Mystic.  Though, I'm not sure what that exactly is.    It may be the boats in the harbor, all coming and going in and out of the waterway. It may be the super cool drawbridge in the center of town, that due to

Recently, I've found myself craving Ramen pretty much all the time. Not the stuff that comes in a styrofoam cup and is full of all sorts of preservatives that assures it'll still be good in the year 2172. Nope, I've actually never even tasted that stuff. I want the good stuff. The soup that chefs perfect over many, many years of practice and recipe-tweaking. A really good bowl of Ramen is deceptively difficult to make. It looks fairly simple - noodles, broth, protein and some veggies. However, the broth - like most broths - is most important. If you don't have good broth, then the Ramen will be just as bad. And a good broth can have dozens of ingredients simmered and boiled to perfection. It's no wonder that few chefs go into the Ramen shop business. However, a few cooks out there have perfected the technique and choose to serve this unbelievably delicious food to the masses. One such shop is Ivan Ramen in the East Village of Manhattan. I first had this pa

I love watching award shows. I love watching shows I love win awards and seeing actors I love all dressed up in beautiful outfits. I even love the speeches and the mostly ridiculous banter of the presenters. However, after just spending 3 hours watching the Primetime Emmy awards, I must say my award show fascination may be slipping away. For one, it was one of the laziest and non-exciting broadcasts I've seen in years. Even the stage was boring. It's like they heard the show was to be broadcast on a Monday night, and gave up caring about making it fun for the audience. There were the shows nominated and awards won. I can honestly say I haven't seen an episode of a single thing that won this evening. The only show that was consistently nominated that I watch is This is Us and that lost (still bummed!). The only person I really enjoy, who won an award was Jeff Daniels. I'm sure the rest of the winners and nominees are lovely people, but I've barely heard of th

Every once in a while, on a positively gorgeous late summer day, you realize that our tiny little state of Maryland has loads to offer. For instance, the small town of historic Havre de Grace in Northern Maryland. There's a beautiful light house that seems to shine brighter white in the sunshine of the summer.   There's a beautiful waterfront that's perfect for sitting and reading, and snoozing if you're so inclined, where you can watch the boats, and see what may have been an eagle glide past. And there's the best candy store I've ever been to, where you can buy a pound of the most fabulous homemade chocolates you'll ever get a chance to sample. Seriously though, the candy store is named Bomboy's and if you're ever in driving distance of Havre de Grace, I'd get there fast if I were you! While Havre de Grace is a complete 180 from the bustle of New York City that I experienced yesterday, it's no less wonderful. I d